


Winter Song

by CybeleEvelysse



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Christmas Eve, Christmas Fluff, Clumsiness, Cooking, F/M, Family, Friendship, Gardens & Gardening, Home, Ice Skating, Personal Growth, Romance, Snow
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-23
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:46:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28257894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CybeleEvelysse/pseuds/CybeleEvelysse
Summary: One day Goro wakes up and he isn't dead. He is cold though, very cold, and why is he lying out in the snow?A sweet story about personal growth and finding where you belong. Follows Goro Akechi and tells the tale of how he fell in love with a beautiful ice skater on Christmas Eve. GoroxSumire romantic pairing.
Relationships: Akechi Goro & Igor, Akechi Goro & Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro & Lavenza, Akechi Goro & Okumura Haru, Akechi Goro & Takamaki Ann, Akechi Goro/Yoshizawa Sumire | Yoshizawa Kasumi
Kudos: 21





	Winter Song

**Author's Note:**

> This piece is dedicated to Lilith, and was created as part of a secret santa exchange for her based on prompts that she provided (Velvet!Akechi, coming home, family). Lilith, thank you for always being so supportive of my writing and for consistently leaving such wonderful comments. You've been cheering me on ever since I started posting my work, and I greatly appreciate it.
> 
> The artwork featured in this piece is by yura_s_arts on twitter, and was a commission created for me to go with this fic. If you like her work, please visit her twitter page to find out ways that you can support her art.

His nerves are on fire, they burn all throughout his body, and he finds his limbs are difficult to move. Why does his body feel this way? Slowly, he opens his eyes, and all he can see are the clouds above him, clouds that hide the stars of the night sky with a cloak of gray. He shifts around slightly, mind telling his fingers to bend, and defiantly, they obey, but it feels and sounds as if he's breaking ice as they do. 

That's the moment that it occurs to him, he's not burning up, he's freezing cold. The frostbite has started to settle in, and that's where the burning sensation is coming from. He needs to move, he needs to get out of the cold, or he'll suffer permanent damage. He hears more crunching noises as he sits up and staggers to his feet. His body feels unstable and a bit stiff, and he wonders how long he's been out here lying in the snow. 

He looks around and surveys his surroundings, but he can't recognize anything. All he can see are barren trees and snow as far as the eye can see. In the distance, he can just barely make out the faint glow of lights, but they're so far away that they instead look like tiny fireflies. "Where the fuck am I?" He asks aloud, but of course he receives no answer, for he is alone. "Well, I suppose I had better start walking..." 

The snow crunches beneath his feet as he follows what he thinks might be a path, an assumption he's only come to because there are no trees that cross it. Eventually, he gets close enough to the lights in the distance that he's able to determine that they're Christmas lights. He figures it must be December, but he isn't sure why he didn't already know that. The last thing that he can remember is March...or wait, actually, was it December? 

The thought occurs to him then, as he makes his way toward the glowing orbs that seem to beckon him...didn't he...die? Didn't he die multiple times over in fact? None of this makes any sense, why is he here? Is this hell? It certainly is a lot colder than he imagined hell would be. He rubs his hands across his arms vigorously, trying to warm them up, though it does very little to help the situation, and that's when he comes to another realization.

He's only wearing one glove. How had he not noticed that before? Of course, this isn't hell, this is just the outskirts of the city, and he's returned here to fulfill a promise he made. A very important promise, one that a dear friend felt the need to wish upon a star for. He still doesn't know why he's wound up here of all places, but at least things make more sense to him now. Perhaps wishes just aren't very precise when it comes to choosing a location for someone to wake up from death in. 

It feels as if he's been walking for ages, but soon he finally reaches something that resembles civilization. The path that he has been following is, in fact, a road just as he deduced, and after a while fencing begins to border it on either side. The lights are all around him now, casting a warm glow on the crisp white snow. He passes by tree after tree, walking at a brisk pace to try and get to a place where he can warm up.

He knows exactly where he is now. One of his targets was a recluse and lived out on the outskirts of the city, and he had to come this way to _take care_ of them. He knows how to get back from this point onward, but he isn't sure where exactly he's meant to go. Is his apartment still his apartment? He knows he's always kept the payments on auto and he has enough in his account to last years on said auto-payments, but if he were pronounced dead, they would surely allow someone else to move in, wouldn't they?

There are so many questions he needs answered, perhaps he should find someone trustworthy to speak with, someone he could ask all of these things who wouldn't think he's a lunatic or on drugs. Someone... _Hmm?_ He's distracted then by the sound of metal gliding across ice. There's someone here. He turns his head, and looks upon the frozen lake, where a pretty girl with crimson hair is spinning, twirling, and jumping all across it in graceful, elegant movements.

"Yoshizawa..." His voice is a mere mumble, but the sound breaks the silence and travels through the wind to her ears. She turns her head, unsure as to whether or not her ears are deceiving her, and sees him...then she glides into the side of the lake without stopping because she isn't paying attention, and falls over into the pile of snow. 

For a brief moment, he's concerned, but she quickly gets back to her feet and starts running in her ice skates toward him. "Akechi-senpai?!" She calls out, still running, which is of course a bad idea. The closer she gets to the trees, the more treacherous the path becomes, and she steps on a branch as she reaches him, causing her to lose her balance once again and fall. This time, however, she doesn't hit the ground, and instead lands safely in Goro's arms. 

Sumire looks up at him, and though it's hard to tell with how flushed her face already was from the cold, he still swears that she's turned a shade redder than she was before. She scrambles back to her feet, and tries to steady herself on the blades of her skates, but the ground is uneven and she continues to wobble a little, so he keeps his hands situated on her waist to steady her. Her body feels so warm to him, when was the last time he felt warmth like this? He doesn't remember.

"Why did you decide to run over here in ice skates? Did you not realize how stupid that decision was? Honestly, how many times have I told you not to rush into things without thinking?" Goro reprimands her as if he hasn't been dead, as if her reaction to him being _alive_ is completely idiotic.  
"I know, and I'm sorry, senpai! I was just so happy to see you," Sumire replies, and Goro can't help but roll his eyes at her statement. She always has such a bad habit of saying ridiculous things like that to him, as if she actually cares for him.  
"What are you doing out here by yourself anyway?" He asks, and her expression falls.  
"Oh...my grandparents used to live out here, and Kasumi and I would go ice skating with them on the lake here every year. I wasn't really sure if I wanted to come here alone this year, but I'm glad I decided to in the end. If I hadn't, I wouldn't have seen you. ...Actually, you look really cold and not well. My grandmother still owns the house here, if you want to come inside and get warmed up?" 

Nothing sounds better to Goro than Sumire's offer to get him out of the cold. Normally he would have suffered in silence and walked the entire path to his apartment alone, but he's in no position to be stubborn with the state that his body is in. "Alright." Though his response is simple and seemingly ungrateful, Sumire still smiles brightly at him before moving away from him to grab her shoes, taking her warmth with her. His hands now feel far colder than they did before. 

Goro waits for Sumire to change her skates for boots, then she leads him to her grandparent's house. When she points it out to him, he notices that it's tiny, but even so, it still looks inviting. "During the spring, there are loads of flowers surrounding this house. My grandfather loved to garden. He said that the whispers of the flowers drowned out the noise of the chaos that dwelled in his heart. He always had such a way with words and was so poetic. My grandmother said that he used to call her his light. Sweet, huh?" Sumire says as she glances behind her at Goro with a smile. He just stares at her blankly.  
"If you're the sort of person who enjoys sentimental nonsense like that, then I suppose so," He responds apathetically. He's too cold to give a damn about any of her idle chatter.  
"Well, I just always used to watch them being sweet together and I thought to myself, _I want a relationship like that. I want to be someone's light._ Isn't that what you want too?" Sumire asks as they reach the door. It's a question that has an ever changing answer for Goro, and he isn't sure how he feels about it anymore. His heart longs for him to be exactly that to someone, but his mind tells him that's impossible, and the result was always a constant war within himself. His mind has won the battle for now, because his heart had no choice left but to surrender, but someday the season may change and the flowers might just bloom again on the long since forgotten battlegrounds.  
"I used to, but not anymore," He replies without elaborating further. Sumire opens the door, and motions for him to go inside. The house is cold, but she quickly grabs wood and gets a fire going in the fireplace, while Goro sits down on the sofa in front of it and tugs the blanket off of the armrest to wrap himself in it.

He looks around the tiny living room, taking in the sight of all of the little knick knacks, books, and photographs in frames that line the shelves on the walls and sit atop the coffee table in front of him. _This place sure is cluttered for it not being their current home_ , he thinks, but he doesn't say anything.

Once Sumire is finished with the fireplace, she sits down next to him on the loveseat style sofa, and eyes up his blanket with her pretty round doe eyes. Goro looks at her, a little confused, but then he realizes that there's likely only one blanket, so he unwraps himself, and chooses instead to share it with her, placing it across both of their laps. The room will soon be much warmer anyway now that the fire is going strong, so he doesn't need to have it wrapped around him anymore.

"So...what happened to you? We all saw you disappear," Sumire wonders, and Goro isn't sure what to say. He doesn't quite know himself.  
"I'm not entirely certain. I have a few theories, but nothing concrete," He replies simply. She looks over at him, puzzled, and finally notices that he only has one glove on.  
"What happened to your other glove?" She asks, curious.  
"Akira has it."  
"I see..." Sumire doesn't fully understand the reasoning behind it, but she decides to leave that topic be. "We all missed you, you know. Well, some of us more than others, but..."  
"You don't need to lie to me, Yoshizawa. I know that I'm not liked, and I'm perfectly fine with that," Goro states as he removes the one glove that he has on, and rubs his hands together. The room is getting warmer now, and he can feel heat radiating through his body, though he isn't entirely sure if it's because of the fire or because of Sumire sitting so close to him.  
"That isn't true. I can't speak for anyone else, but I can honestly say that I like you," She responds, and Goro glances over at her, a little perplexed. She shifts her body around nervously, uncomfortable under his scrutinizing gaze, and their knees to bump together. Immediately his gaze shifts to their knees, and his quick reaction causes her cheeks to flood with color again. "I-I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to do that!"  
"It's fine," Goro says calmly, which makes Sumire feel a little silly for overreacting the way that she did. "You mentioned people missing me...even if that were true, I don't understand why that would be the case. Based on the season and where my memory ends, I've deduced that I can't have been gone for more than a month."

Sumire stares at him, blinks a few times, then shifts her gaze away. "You really don't know, do you?" She questions, and that's when he finally notices. She's older. Not a lot older, but her face has matured slightly, and though it's difficult to tell through her winter clothes, he thinks she may have grown into her body a bit more.  
"How long has it been?" Goro asks, and Sumire lets out a small sigh.  
"Three years," She replies, and suddenly he feels his heart sink.  
"I suppose my apartment is long gone by now then." It's the only thing he can think to say. He's been away for three years, and he isn't even sure if he's just been dead or if he's simply lost those years from his memory.  
"Yes, but I think you should get in touch with Makoto. Her and Sae-san were able to get a hold of your accounts and keep them locked, so that if you ever came back, you wouldn't be broke. Akira and I, we...wanted to believe that someday, you would come home, so we both asked for strings to be pulled. Your name has been kept out of the press, you're declared missing, but not dead, and all of your things...they're...well..." Sumire gets up then, and motions for Goro to follow her up the stairs. 

Hesitantly, he rises from his seat, and ascends the stairs with her. When he reaches the top, he sees exactly why the downstairs is so cluttered. "You...brought my things here," Goro says, dumbfounded. Everything is there, his books, his attache case, his laptop, all of it. Sumire slides open the small closet door, and reveals that even his clothes are there, perfectly pressed and hung nicely.  
"I did. I couldn't stand the idea of them getting thrown away or donated. You're welcome to stay here until you find a place of your own. No one will bother you out here," Sumire offers. Her kind gaze as she looks upon him causes all of the feelings that he's long since buried to dig their way back up to the surface. She cares for him. Why does she care for him? Why has she kept his things all of this time, with no guarantee that he would ever return home for them? 

No one has ever shown him kindness of this level without asking for something in return. Everything has a price, or so he has learned. He wonders what her fee is. "And what is it that you seek in return for all of this?" Goro asks, and Sumire smiles softly.  
"Just your friendship," She replies earnestly, and he bursts out laughing.  
"You're joking, right? Come now, you don't really think I'm so naive as to believe that, do you?" Goro questions, and Sumire's smile falls.  
"Believe what you want, but that's my asking price. Take it or leave it." He lets his face fall back into it's natural emotionless state once more, and folds his arms.  
"I see you've grown a backbone over the last three years," He observes, and she looks away, a little sad over the reason why.  
"I've had to. I don't have anyone to fight my battles for me anymore."  
"Ah, of course. Either way, it's refreshing to see. This room belongs to your grandparents, does it not?" Goro asks, trying to assess the situation and figure out why Sumire has set things up for him the way that she has.  
"It did, yes, but now no one lives here," She replies, but her response does not actually answer any of the questions running through his mind.  
"Why is that?"  
"My grandfather passed away a few years ago. Stricken with grief, my grandmother decided to move in with my parents for support. She can't stand being here, but we've continued to pay the bills because she can't bear to let this place go either. Don't worry though, I asked her and she said it was okay for me to do all of this." The fact that Sumire's grandmother supported this strange behavior was even more odd to him. 

Always the detective, always examining every situation to try and find the motivations behind the actions that are being taken, Goro decides to continue pressing Sumire for more answers. "What exactly did you say to her? I find it rather difficult to believe that she would willingly allow a stranger to live somewhere that holds so much sentimental value to her."  
"You're not a stranger. You're my friend, and that's what I told my family," Sumire replies. "Besides, it's not like they've never met you before. You had quite a few interviews at the TV station my dad works at, remember?"

Of course, Goro certainly remembers, and he figures given what Sumire has told him about his name being kept out of the press that her family likely has no idea about the crimes that he committed. Speaking of those crimes, he wonders why he doesn't feel the weight of them as strongly as he once did before. It's as if he's obtained some sort of redemption, but he cannot recall how or why he feels this way.

"Your family trusts others far too easily. I see where you get that trait from now. Regardless, I'm in no position to turn down your offer. I'll stay here for a few days until I can sort out my own accomodation, though I'd prefer to owe you money rather than _friendship_ , as you put it."  
"I don't want money. Friendship is the only form of payment that I'll accept, and I won't change my asking price," Sumire responds with a smile on her face, and Goro is left with choice but to accept her terms.  
"Very well then. Friendship it is," He agrees, and she claps her hands together joyfully.  
"Perfect! Your first task as my friend is to go ice skating with me," She announces. Skating, that isn't a talent that he's perfected, and he refuses to let her see him fall down on the ice, so he searches for every excuse that he can to get out of it.  
"I'm certain you know as you've handled all of my things, but I don't have any ice skates," Goro informs her, and her beaming smile just grows wider.  
"That is true...but luckily, your shoe size is the same size as my grandfather's was, so you can use his old skates." _Fuck_ . _Of course_ he'd be the same fucking size as her grandfather. _Of course_ her grandfather just happened to enjoy ice skating and had his own pair of skates. _Of fucking course_.

Goro doesn't want to be rude to Sumire after all that she's done for him, otherwise he would just turn her down without caring to tell her why. So he quickly comes up with another excuse to buy himself some time. "I'm rather tired after the long walk to get here. Could this wait until some other day?" He requests, and though her smile falls, he can tell from her expression that she understands and is sympathetic toward him at least.   
"Yes, of course. Why don't we plan to skate together on christmas eve then?" Sumire suggests, and Goro just looks at her a little confused.  
"What is the date today?" He asks.  
"Oh, right! I forgot for a minute that you don't know that kind of stuff. Today is December 3rd," She informs him. That doesn't seem like an unreasonable amount of time to learn a new skill to him. He's learned new skills in less time than that before. This should be easy for him. He'll just practice everyday, and when christmas eve rolls around, he'll be skating at a respectable level of ability.  
"Alright, agreed," Goro responds, and Sumire smiles happily.

They spend a little more time chatting, going over how he can gain access to his funds again, and plans to get him set up with a new phone and stock the fridge with food. Sumire brought ingredients to make dinner, and breakfast for herself the next morning, having planned to stay overnight in the house, but he would certainly need more than what she brought if he would be staying there longer.

Eventually it gets rather late, and Goro decides to ask about the sleeping situation. "There is only one bed in this house, is that correct?" He asks, and Sumire nods.  
"Yes, that's right," She replies.  
"And you're staying here tonight?" He questions a little apprehensively.  
"It's too late to go home now. Don't worry though, I'll sleep on the sofa, so you can sleep on the bed," She assures him.  
"Don't be ridiculous, this home belongs to your family. I'll sleep on the sofa, you sleep on the bed."  
"You're the one being ridiculous. You're so tall, that sofa is way too tiny for you! I'll fit on it a lot better than you will."

Goro realizes they could go back and forth on this the entire night, so he decides, given the size of the bed, that perhaps it wouldn't be a terrible idea to share it, just for one night. Allowing her to sleep on the sofa doesn't sit right with him, and she refuses to let him take it, so this seems like the most reasonable solution. "Why don't we just share the bed? It's only one night, and I certainly have no interest in doing anything inappropriate, so you needn't worry," He suggests, and the mere idea of it causes her cheeks to flush a rosy pink shade.  
"U-Uh...-u-um...sure...I guess..." Sumire agrees nervously.  
"Unless you don't trust me, in which case, I'm happy to take the sofa." Is this his way of winning their argument? Well, she simply can't allow that. A loveseat is not big enough for a 5'10" man. If he could even manage to get any sleep at all, he'd wake up incredibly sore from it.  
"N-No, I trust you," She responds, voice a little shaky.  
"You can be honest. I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't." 

Sumire swallows down her nerves, and attempts to speak smoothly this time. "I trust you. It's more about the idea of sharing a bed with a man for the first time than it is about you specifically."  
"I see. You're inexperienced in that department," Goro remarks.  
"As if you're experienced," She retorts.  
"You have me there. It's a first for me as well. The concept of it doesn't particularly bother me however, even if I do prefer to have my own space." How is he so comfortable with all of this, Sumire wonders, but she doesn't say anything about it. "I would like to request that you leave the room while I get changed though."  
"O-Of course, I don't want to watch or anything, that'd be weird..." Was that word vomit? Oh god, that was definitely word vomit, Sumire thinks to herself. She thought that she had banished the beast of awkward, nervous behavior a long time ago, but turns out it was just waiting for the perfect moment to rear its ugly head again.  
"Perhaps it isn't me that we should be concerned about here," Goro jokes, though his voice and demeanor make it difficult to tell that he is.  
"Don't say that! I-I'm not a pervert or anything, I swear!" Oh god, the word vomit just _wouldn't stop_ . She watches, cheeks flushed scarlet red over just how much she's embarrassing herself, as Goro's mouth curls into a smile and he begins laughing. Are her eyes deceiving her? Goro Akechi is laughing, albeit at her cost, but still, he's _laughing_ .  
"You're so defensive. Are you secretly a predator? How would I ever fend you off if you assaulted me in my sleep?" He teases while laughing uncontrollably.  
"It's not that funny!" Sumire insists, but then she finds herself giggling at the situation too. "I could take you."  
"Go on then," Goro taunts as he tries to stifle his laughter at the idea of tiny 5'4" Sumire trying to take him on.  
"Ummm...I'm not in the mood tonight," She offers as a weak excuse not to.  
He chuckles a little, then responds, "Alright, let me know when you are. We'll have a duel."  
"Will do," She replies, without any intention of ever actually doing so.

Eventually they decide to get ready for bed, each changing into their pyjamas in separate rooms before meeting back up to go to sleep in the bedroom. They both lift up the covers, and climb into the bed on either side. Goro finds it easy to get comfortable, adjusting his pillows and pulling his side of the blanket up over his shoulders. Then he turns over so that he is on his side, with his back facing Sumire, assuming that's what would be most comfortable for her. He falls asleep rather quickly, for he's slept in far worse conditions than this.

Sumire, on the other hand, spends the next hour or so just lying flat on her back, with her heart racing a mile a minute as she listens to Goro breathe deeply in his sleep. He's alive. Goro is alive. She was right this entire time to hold onto the hope that one day he would return home. Now not only is he back, he's sleeping next to her in bed. This certainly isn't something that she ever thought would happen, though she'd be lying if she said that she hadn't dreamed about it.

She keeps her eyes firmly pressed shut, but her mind doesn't let her sleep just yet. All she can think about is the schoolgirl crush she once had on him, back when he was the detective prince doing interviews at the TV station that her father is a producer at. Maruki's actualization made her forget about it, but after everything was resolved, she regained her memories, and it hurt far more than she ever thought that it would. By the time she sorted out her own feelings and realized that she found him even _more_ attractive when he was acting as his true self, Goro was long gone.

The only person that she could talk to was Akira, so she did. He didn't want to believe that Goro was gone permanently either, so together, they made arrangements for his return. Everyone thought that they were just overcome with grief and were dealing with it in a strange way, but even so, they still did whatever Akira asked of them. Sumire would tell him tomorrow that Goro is back...actually, maybe Goro should just meet up with him. That seems like the best course of action, she thinks.

After a while, her mind settles and she drifts off to sleep.

When Sumire awakens in the morning, she feels refreshed and like she's slept incredibly well, but she also feels like there's some sort of weight wrapped around her body. She opens her eyes, and sees the grey fabric of Goro's tshirt before her. Slowly and carefully, she looks around at herself, and realizes that he has his arms wrapped around her, cuddling her as if she were a stuffed toy. She knows that he must still be fast asleep, otherwise he would surely recoil at the sight of this, but she doesn't choose to wake him.

Instead, Sumire chooses to remain lying in his arms, and just listens to the sound of his breathing and his heart beating so close to her ears. Goro seems so peaceful like this, and she wonders if this is secretly what he longs for, to have someone to cuddle with all night. He shifts slightly in his sleep, and it startles her a little out of fear that he might wake up, but he doesn't. He just nuzzles his head up against hers and makes a sort of "mmh" noise in his sleep.

Sumire isn't sure how much time has passed, but eventually, Goro does begin to slowly wake up. His eyes flutter open, and he looks down... 

"What the...?!" Immediately he removes his arms from Sumire's body and jumps out of bed. "How long was I doing that for?" He asks as she stares at him, not the least bit surprised by his reaction.  
"Ummm...I'm not sure. A while," She answers.  
Goro folds his arms, mildly irritated. "And the reason you didn't wake me up the moment that you realized I was doing that was...?"  
"You seemed like you were sleeping so soundly and peacefully. I didn't want to disturb you," Sumire replies.  
"Of course I was sleeping soundly, I was tired," Goro scoffs, now even more annoyed that she didn't wake him up. "It had nothing to do with you, so don't flatter yourself."  
"I never said that it did." But she most certainly was thinking it, and she still is.  
"I also find it rather difficult to believe that you just let me sleep that way because I looked _peaceful_ . Surely you had some sort of ulterior motive behind it. Perhaps I was fulfilling some sort of pathetic fantasy of yours." The more Goro speaks, the more Sumire thinks that he did sleep peacefully because of her. He's lashing out far too much for it to just be a mere accident with no meaning behind it.  
"Maybe you were. I won't lie and say I haven't dreamed of having someone hold me like that," She responds matter-of-factly. He looks away from her, taken aback a bit by her honesty.  
"Then go find a boyfriend. I'm not interested in being in that kind of relationship with you, or with anyone for that matter. Not only do I think it's a waste of time, but I also refuse to subject myself to the whims of another, constantly worrying if their coming and going will eventually become just leaving and never returning." Immediately Goro regrets making that statement when he feels his heart sink at the thought of his mother and how he found her asleep in the crimson water of the bathtub, never to wake again. No matter how much she loved him, it was never enough to make her stay.  
"You've never had a secure relationship before, have you?" Sumire questions, and Goro shifts his eyes to look at her again.  
"There's no such thing," He states coldly. "Regardless, I no longer wish to continue this conversation. I haven't eaten anything since...well, I honestly don't know when I ate last. Do you have anything here that I could have, or will I need to go out?" 

Sumire pulls the covers off of herself and gets out of bed. "Yes, of course! I'll make breakfast for us," She says with a smile, then she rushes downstairs to get started with her cooking without giving Goro a chance to respond.

It doesn't take long for the house to fill with a delicious scent from Sumire's cooking, and soon she sets two plates down at the tiny round wooden table in the kitchen. They both take their seats, and begin eating. After a few bites, Goro remarks on the flavor. "This is quite good. I've had some of the best food in Tokyo, and I would honestly say the quality of this is on par with that. You seem to have a true talent for cooking. Have you ever considered pursuing that rather than gymnastics?" 

Sumire stops eating, and just stares at him for a moment. "No one has ever asked me that before," She states, surprised by his words.  
"Really? I would think it would be an obvious question to ask, given your skill level. If you possess such a high level of natural talent for something, then why would anyone just assume that you would not want to utilize that talent?" Goro questions.  
"I suppose...no one really noticed. I've been in Kasumi's shadow for most of my life, and everything that I am sort of disappeared underneath it," Sumire replies apathetically. Even now, she's still living the life that her sister dreamed of, rather than finding her own dream.  
"That's a shame, because if you were to ask me, I'd say that you're far more interesting," Goro states, and Sumire's cheeks flush with a pale pink, honored to have received such kind words from him.  
"T-Thank you..." She replies earnestly.  
"Don't thank me, it wasn't a compliment," Goro informs her, and she raises an eyebrow in confusion.  
"Should I be angry then?" She asks and he shakes his head.  
"No, it wasn't an insult either...it's just a fact. That's all."

They finish their food, then begin working on getting Goro's life back in order. They contact all of the Phantom Thieves and let them know he's home again, and they head out to meet up with them and do some shopping.

Everyone is happy to see Goro, much to his surprise. Even Futaba and Haru smile at him, the three years that he's been away having given them time to grieve and sort out their feelings regarding his actions. Though he doubts that they will ever really be his friends, at least they don't look at him the way that they used to. Makoto promises to unfreeze his accounts for him and get them back in working order soon. Everything is going well, so well that Goro wants to question why that is, but he puts the thought to the back of his mind for now.

Eventually they all part ways, and Goro returns alone to Sumire's grandparent's home. He promises himself that he will find other accommodation as quickly as possible, and begins searching online for other places to live. It's strange to him to think about what he wants to do independent of any grand scheme or plot. He's not even sure he knows how to live a mundane, normal life, but somehow, after everything he's been through, mundane, normal life sounds like a dream come true. 

A nice, normal life, where he's accepted by people and has friends... A second chance. Never in his wildest dreams did he ever think this would be possible.

\---------------------------------

Time passes by, and Goro doesn't move out as he planned to. He's too focused on learning how to ice skate to do anything else. He swears it's just so that he doesn't embarrass himself in front of Sumire, but the truth is, he's doing it entirely just to impress her. The idea of being able to skate with her side by side seems nice to him. 

Or at least it did, until he fell down over and over and over on the ice and nearly broke several bones. Perhaps he should have asked her to teach him rather than trying to tackle it on his own, but he's far too stubborn to do something like that. 

At some point, Goro realizes that perhaps he could use some help, so he texts Akira to see if he can come and teach him how to skate. Unfortunately for him, however, Akira answers that he also cannot skate, and the last thing Goro needs is another bumbling idiot on the ice to trip over. Akira does know who Goro should ask though, and after some deliberation, he decides to message her.

The pretty blonde model shows up, with her pink ice skates slung over her shoulder as she walks through the snow to greet him. "So, I hear you need my help," Ann states when she gets near. Goro already regrets his decision to involve her.  
"In a manner of speaking, yes," He replies, and she smiles.  
"Don't worry, by the time I'm done, you'll be skating like a pro. My parents had me take ice skating lessons since I was little, saying it would improve my balance and impart grace. I guess they were right, in a way," Ann says with a giggle. She then sits down on the bench near the frozen lake, and begins switching her shoes for skates. Goro already has his on, because as usual, Ann was late. Her tardiness isn't anything new though, so he isn't angry over it. 

Once she finishes tying the hot pink laces on her skates, she gets up and steps onto the ice, then she glides across effortlessly and does a waltz jump to show off. "Stick with me, and I'll have you doing that in no time!" She says confidently, then she motions with her hand for Goro to join her out on the ice. 

He does as she asks, and Ann learns that while he has a decent handle on balance, doing anything other than just gliding causes him to fall, so she helps with teaching him how to turn. The first few times, he's unsteady, and it takes a bit of time for him to get the crossover technique down, but with Ann's help, he's soon far more proficient than he was before. 

"See, I told you, I'm a good teacher," Ann declares triumphantly as she stands in the middle of the lake, watching Goro skate on his own without falling.  
"I will admit, you've achieved a miracle here. I was beginning to think that I was beyond help on this just like with cooking," He replies, skating toward her.  
"I bet you could conquer cooking too with the right teacher. Unfortunately, that's not really my forte. Maybe Sumire could teach you though, she's really good at cooking. Like really good."  
"It's fine, I've gotten by my entire life without being able to cook. I've learned how to deal with it. Speaking of Sumire though, you won't tell her about our little practice sessions, correct?"  
Ann smirks, noticing the obvious feelings that Goro seems to be developing toward Sumire that he still refuses to acknowledge in any way, shape, or form. "Wouldn't dream of it. It'll be our little secret," She assures him, and he offers a small smile as thanks.

Ann returns a few times after that, and teaches Goro a few tricks that he can perform in front of Sumire to impress her further. He's grateful for Ann's assistance, and asks how he can repay her, but she answers him with a similar response to Sumire. "We're friends, right? Friends help each other out. So don't worry about it."

How strange it is to him that no one wants anything from him other than his company. The fact that his company is even desirable at all is a foreign concept to him. Goro thought for certain that the only person crazy enough to want his friendship was Akira, but turns out that isn't the case.

\---------------------------

December 24th rolls around, and Sumire returns to ice skate with Goro. It isn't the first time that she's been back. She's been over several times to just spend time with him and make him feel less isolated. He's also received a few visits from Akira, as well as Yusuke, who came by a few days prior to drop off a painting as a christmas gift for him. 

After putting the dinner away inside that she brought with her, Goro and Sumire head back outside to put on their skates and take to the ice together. Thanks to Ann, Goro is able to skate with nearly as much grace and elegance as Sumire is, and she's thoroughly impressed with his skills. 

"I always imagined you'd be good at skating. You just seem like the type who would be," Sumire tells him as they skate around the lake together, and it takes everything that Goro has to not laugh at that statement.  
"I'm a man of many talents," He remarks smugly, trying to conceal the fact that most of his _talents_ are actually all just perfected skills. At least no one could ever call him lazy, that was for certain.  
"And you're so modest too," Sumire teases with a giggle.  
"Modesty is overrated," Goro responds, then he turns around to skate backwards in front of Sumire instead. "Tell me, did you ever take skating lessons?"  
"Yes, for a while, but Kasumi wasn't very good at skating, so we didn't stick with it. Once we got the basics down, we just kept it as a sort of christmas time hobby."  
"I see... Did you ever think that perhaps it might have been a good idea to state that you enjoyed something and that you'd like to stick with it instead of abandoning everything that you've ever liked in favor of doing what Kasumi wanted to do?" Sumire slows her pace and just lets herself glide on the ice as she thinks about what Goro has just asked her. She isn't sure what to say, so she doesn't say anything at all. After going around the lake a few times, he decides to elaborate further. "You have a natural grace and elegance to your movements, which lends itself far better to ice skating than it does gymnastics. I wonder, would you have continued skating if your sister had never existed?"  
"I don't know, maybe... Would you have become a detective if you hadn't ever worked with Shido?" Sumire asks finally, and it distracts Goro enough that he's no longer focused on his skating.  
"It's difficult to say. So much of what I did was rooted in necessity. Becoming a detective so that I could be directly involved in every case and control the information that circulated from the inside was vital to my plan's success. But...as a child, I wanted to be a hero, and I suppose being a detective, tracking down the cockroaches of the world in every corner that they hide in, is certainly a form of heroism."

Before Sumire has a chance to respond to Goro's words, his inability to focus on his skating catches up to him, and he glides backwards into the snow pile on the side of the lake. She tries to catch him, reaching out her hands as he holds out his to try and regain his balance, and she does manage to get hold of him, but it does no good. She's so small, and weighs so little, that he just ends up pulling her down with him when he falls. Her body lands on top of his, and when she starts to try and get up by placing her hands on either side of him to support her weight, she finds herself staring down into his eyes.

Goro stares back at her, and his heart begins to pound within his chest. Why is he feeling like this, he wonders. This feeling, it's just so incredibly _annoying_ to him, and he wants it to stop immediately. "Would you mind getting off of me?" He requests, and Sumire scrambles to get back to her feet.  
"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to, I was trying to stop you from falling," She apologizes as she watches Goro get up.  
"It's fine, I know what you were intending to do, and I appreciate the effort. We've been skating for quite a while and it's getting late, don't you need to get home?" He asks, and Sumire's eyes widen.  
"Oh, that's right! I'll miss the last train back if I don't leave now. Thank you for skating with me. This was a lot of fun! Maybe we can make a tradition of it and go every year, what do you think?" She asks, but he isn't sure if he wants to agree to that obligation.  
"I'll think about it and let you know later. Now get going, I won't have you missing that train."

Sumire changes her skates for shoes, and bids him farewell after that, then Goro heads inside to eat the dinner that she prepared for him. It's as delicious as all of the other food that she's made, and he thoroughly enjoys it. Most of the time he doesn't really find a lot of enjoyment in eating, doing it because he needs to rather than because he likes the flavors, but Sumire's cooking is different to him somehow, much like Akira's coffee, and he isn't sure exactly why. It's just good.

\----------------------------

The time flies by, and although Goro fully intended to move out of Sumire's grandparent's home, for some reason he's still there. Sumire visits him every chance that she gets, and they spend endless hours chatting about their lives to each other. They find it far easier to talk these days than they did three years ago, now that their hearts are left with scars instead of open wounds.

The longer Goro stays in that house, the more things he begins to notice about it. There are so many photographs of Sumire's family spending time out in the garden behind the house, and as the season begins to change and the snow melts, he realizes that said garden hasn't been maintained at all since her grandfather's passing. There are weeds growing everywhere, and most of the flowers didn't survive without any proper care being given to them. 

Sumire only desired his friendship as payment, but Goro thinks that perhaps there is a way that he can properly repay her for her hospitality after all. He decides then that he will restore the garden back to its former glory. Gardening isn't something that he's particularly knowledgeable about, but there's a wealth of information on the internet, and there's also this boy that is willing to do anything to help out his best friend.

Goro acquires all of the things that he thinks he will need, including soil, seeds, plants, and various tools to replace the rusty ones that he found out in the shed. After that, he asks Akira to come over and assist him with restoring the garden. When Akira shows up though, he isn't alone.

Her soft face and the gentle waves of her rosy hair are a familiar sight to Goro. Sometimes seeing her invokes no feelings at all within him, and others, he feels a knot at the pit of his stomach when his mind decides to dredge up the memory of him killing her father. Today the knot is there, and it feels as if it had a few more loops added to it. All he can do is wonder why she has come. He's the last person that she should ever want to do a favor for.

Resilient and never one to be cruel, Haru smiles at him sweetly, layers of lavender dress gently fluttering in the early spring breeze. "Akira-san told me you needed help with gardening," She says, no hint of bitterness present in her cotton candy voice. Goro's eyes dart from her to Akira as he tries to process this turn of events.  
"I didn't intend to ask you for any favors, Okumura. Why did you bring her here, Akira?" Goro asks, and Akira just shrugs.  
"I can't garden. You keep thinking I have all of these random skills, but I don't. The only way either of us are going to get anywhere with this is by getting Haru's assistance. This is her specialty," Akira replies.  
"I don't mind helping, really. Sumire-chan is a very good friend, and I would love to see her happy just as much as you would, Akechi-san," Haru adds, and Goro isn't sure what to say.  
"But I..." He begins, but then he trails off. What is he meant to say in this sort of situation? Is he meant to just ignore the elephant in the room? He needs her assistance, that much is certain, but is it really alright to accept it?

Haru looks down, and her smile fades a little, knowing full well what Goro is thinking about without him needing to say the words. It's something that never truly leaves her mind, something that she keeps controlled by locking the door that leads to the memory of it. "I won't lie and say that I've forgiven you for what you did to my father, because I haven't, but...I don't hold any resentment toward you either. I think I would like to try and move past it, and maybe even become friends someday, if that's something that you would like to do as well, of course."

The knot at the pit of Goro's stomach unties, the sound of Haru's gentle voice coaxing it to let go of him. "I would like to as well," He responds simply, and the smile returns to her face.  
"Good! Then we'll start by bonding over gardening. It'll be fun," Haru says as she claps her hands together, displaying her bright optimism and her ever enduring kindness. Goro offers a small, almost awkward looking smile in response, and Akira looks on at the two peacefully. With enough time and enough care, even the weakest, most finicky flower can blossom.

The unlikely trio begin their work on the garden, boys following Haru's careful instructions. They start by pulling out all of the weeds, and that alone takes them all day with how large the garden is. Though the house is tiny, the property itself has a rather wide expansion. With the way that Sumire described her grandfather's interests, this seems like a natural choice for him to have made, to invest in the land rather than the house itself, but it makes their task all the more daunting.

It takes several days of work before the garden is finally planted, and it will take weeks before the flowers grow large enough to look like anything special, but Haru assures them that the wait will be worth it. She leaves Goro with specific care instructions, which he appreciates. He has always preferred to have an organized schedule to work with, and hers is so intricate that it even details what to do in the event of excess rain or excess sun.

Goro follows her instructions to the letter, and the garden begins to grow...

\----------------------------------------------

The weeks pass by, and as the garden begins to bloom, Goro decides that he will meet up with Sumire in the city rather than having her come over to avoid having her see it. After a while, she begins to wonder why, but she never presses the issue too much. He wants it to be a surprise, so he doesn't tell her a thing about what he's done, and Akira and Haru are happy to aid him in keeping it a secret.

Once Goro is happy with how the garden looks, which occurs somewhere toward the end of spring, he texts Sumire the following message.  
\- _Come over. Bring your grandmother._

He receives a response within seconds from Sumire.  
\- _What? Why do you want me to bring her?_

He just replies with a simple...  
\- _You'll see._

Sumire doesn't question it further. She figures if this is what he is asking for, then he must have a good reason, so she asks her grandmother to come with her to the house. It's been a few years since she's been back, and she's hesitant to agree to it at first, but ultimately decides that perhaps it's time. It helps that she's eager to meet the man that her granddaughter has told her so many wonderful things about. 

When they arrive, Goro leads them to the garden, and the two of them gaze upon in awe of its beauty. "You did all of this?" Sumire asks in shock, and he smiles softly at her.  
"Yes, with Akira and Haru's help. I wanted to repay my debt to you properly for your hospitality. I've stayed here far longer than I ever intended to, and you've done nothing but make me feel welcome here. This was the least I could do," Goro replies, then he looks at Sumire's grandmother, who has her hand delicately placed on her chest and a tear in her eye that is threatening to escape.  
"Thank you for doing this. My husband would have loved to have a grandson like you." Her gaze shifts to Sumire then. "Sumi, so help me god if you don't marry this fine young man-"  
Flustered and scarlet red, Sumire yells, "Grandma!" And Goro chuckles a little at her reaction. "I'm so sorry. My grandma just doesn't have a filter sometimes."  
"When you get to my age, you stop caring about what other people will think of the things you say," Her grandmother replies.  
"I already don't care," Goro states, and she smiles and nudges Sumire with her elbow.  
"I like him."

It's strange to Goro to hear someone like him so much just based on a first impression when he isn't trying to pretend to be someone he isn't, but then, he's learned that everyone in Sumire's family is perhaps a little too accepting and trusting of others. He can't even imagine being that way himself. Trust isn't something to be handed out freely, it needs to be earned. 

They walk around the garden for a while, admiring the flowers, when Goro spots a blue butterfly. He watches as it lands on one of the violets that he planted, then glances back at Sumire and her grandmother to see if they've noticed it as well. They're talking amongst themselves a short distance away about some of the other flowers, and don't notice his gaze, so he figures they haven't seen the blue butterfly either. When he returns his eyes to the violets, however, the blue butterfly is gone, as if it were never there in the first place. 

Were his eyes playing tricks on him? He looks around to see if maybe it flew away somewhere and is still in the general area, but he can't find it. That butterfly...no, it couldn't be, he thinks. What business could Lavenza possibly have here? It was probably just an ordinary butterfly, nothing more.

After spending time enjoying the garden, Sumire and her grandmother decide that it's getting late, so they need to head back. They thank Goro once again for everything that he did, and her grandmother tells him that he can stay as long as he likes. Of course, he tells her that he doesn't intend to take advantage of her kindness and that he'll move out soon...

\------------------------------

The seasons change from spring to summer, and Goro doesn't leave. He reasons it's to take care of the garden. If he isn't there, who will? It'll end up in disarray just as it did before, and he isn't about to just let all of his hard work go to waste. He continues caring for it, and continues to spend more and more time with Sumire. They've grown closer than ever now, and she's starting to desire more, but Goro likes his distance. It's part of why he finds this house so comforting, it's far away from the busy atmosphere of the city, but not so far that he doesn't have access to all of his favorite places still. 

Summer ends, and he doesn't even remember what happened in autumn. The entire year has just become a blur of crimson hair, fairy floss giggles, and violet petals blowing in the wind. All of it is so vibrant and bright, just like the color of her cheeks when he chooses to say something nice to her. He never imagined that a single girl's smile could hold so much value when he spent so many years faking his own, making it about as valuable as a common pebble. 

Winter arrives again, and so too does christmas eve. In the end, Goro decides that he rather likes the idea of spending every single christmas eve ice skating with Sumire. Just like the previous year, they take to the ice together, and skate until it gets late in the evening. Only this time, Goro asks her to stay overnight rather than sending her home on the last train. 

Sumire gets a fire going in the fireplace just the same as she did that first night that they spent together, and they sit down on the sofa, spreading the blanket across their legs. Now far more comfortable with each other, they don't mind if their knees touch a bit or their shoulders bump up against each other. "Goro," Sumire addresses him by his first name these days, and the sound of her sweet voice saying it makes his heart flutter. It's been a very, very long time since he has ever allowed anyone to call him by his first name, but he allows her, along with a select few of the Phantom Thieves - namely, Ann, Akira, and Haru, though she often flits between the two, sometimes trying to be more proper than she needs to be - to do so.

Sumire's hands nervously clutch onto the mug that she's holding, filled with hot chocolate and marshmallows. She shifts it around, switching the handle between her hands as she stares down into it. "I need to tell you something," She states, and Goro looks away from his own mug - containing just hot chocolate, no marshmallows, he doesn't like marshmallows - in order to look at her.  
"What is it?" He asks, and for a moment he's made to patiently wait as she tries to gather up her courage.  
"I..." She begins, but her voice cracks from the lump in her throat. Determined, she swallows it down, and tries again. "I'm in love with you." She glances up at him as she speaks those words, and watches as his face subtly changes from neutral to mild concern. He doesn't feel the same way about her, she's certain of that now, and he's trying to think of how to turn her down without shattering her fragile heart. Panicking, she starts vomiting out words to try and salvage the situation. "It's fine if you don't feel the same way, I won't take offense at all. I don't even know that I ever actually thought that you would. Even in my wildest dreams I think you turn me down. So please, don't worry about it, we can still be friends, we can still-"  
"Sumire, stop." Goro has heard enough. There's no reason for him to let her to continue, not when she's misinterpreted him so much. He takes a sip of his hot chocolate, using that moment to carefully formulate his response, then he continues speaking. "I value your friendship, but I won't lie and say that I don't have feelings toward you that extend beyond that. However, you must understand, I cannot be your first." 

Sumire looks up at him, round doe eyes wide with confusion. "Why not?" She questions, and he lets out a sigh.  
"Statistically speaking, people do not typically marry their first love, and I..." The words refuse to leave Goro's mouth, held in by his desire to maintain a certain level of distance, even now. Being vulnerable is not something he is comfortable with, despite his best efforts to force himself to be. 

Sumire sets her mug down on the deep mahogany wood of the coffee table, then gently takes Goro's mug out of his hands and sets it down next hers. After that, she reaches once again for his hands, but this time it is to hold them in hers. His eyes dart between her pretty little heart shaped face and their intertwined hands as he tries to process what is happening. "And most people don't have access to the metaverse let alone have personas to fight with. Don't you think we beat the odds a little?" She asks, and he just stares at her for a moment, as if he's analyzing the soft expression of her face.  
"Are you saying that you would choose to spend your life with me?" He questions finally.  
"I've thought long and hard about this and honestly...all I can think is that I don't want it to end, I don't want us to end...I just want more, more of you, more of this, more..." Her calloused fingers traverse the hills of his knuckles, and glide over the gaps between his fingers. His skin is far softer than hers, having always been protected by gloves, and his hands still radiate warmth leftover from holding his mug of hot chocolate. She wants to wrap herself in his warmth, to feel his soft skin against her body, but she settles for just his hands, not wanting to push him further than he's willing to go.  
"So do I..." Goro mumbles as he watches Sumire's hands move across his, tender touch causing his heart to become intoxicated with her love. "But I fear the day that you don't. I fear the day that you look at me and see who I am, and realize you cannot accept me anymore. That's why I can't be your first. I need you to be certain that I am who you want. You can take as much time as you need, and if you never choose to be with me, then that is perfectly fine, but...if you do choose me, then know that choice needs to be forever. I...don't think that I could handle being thrown away again."  
"Oh Goro...I would never throw you away." Her voice sounds sincere, and he doesn't get the impression that she's lying to him. His eyes focus on her lips, pretty and perfect and nearly as much of a heart shape as her face is, and he wonders what it would be like to kiss them, but he doesn't dare. "I don't want to be with anyone else. I don't even want to look. You're the only one that I want."

Sumire's hand moves to caress his face then, and he shuts his eyes and allows himself to lean into it, body yearning for the feeling of touch that it's long since been deprived of. "Do you really mean that?" His voice is soft and uncertain, yet desperate all at the same time. She moves closer to him, until her face is mere inches away from his.  
"Yes. I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it. I love you. I love you so much that the very idea of being away from you hurts." She closes the distance between them then, and gently presses her lips against his, kissing him. After a moment, she pulls back, and looks into his eyes with tears forming in her own. "So please, promise me that you'll never leave me again."

Goro's brows furrow together as he looks upon her face. "Is that what you're afraid of? That I'll...disappear...?" He questions in disbelief.  
"It's my worst fear," Sumire responds, and she watches as his eyes begin to glisten.  
"Then I promise you, I will never leave you. You never need to fear that again." This time he is the one to kiss her, and his lips feel as soft as flower petals as he moves them against hers. For the first time, everything feels right to him. He loves her, more than he ever thought possible, and somehow, he feels safe with her. His hands move to her waist, and soon he's pulling her toward him to wrap her in his embrace. 

That's the moment that he truly realizes...the reason he slept so good that first night was because he was holding her. The feeling of her body against his is unlike anything he's ever felt before in his life. It feels so comforting and nice...it feels like home to him.

\--------------------------------------

Everything changes with time, and the heart that was once a barren land destroyed by war becomes a flower field, vibrant colors as far as the eye can see. The conflict within Goro no longer wages on, and finally his mind and heart have decided to form a peace treaty, both accepting the same absolute truth; that he is loved, safe, and secure. It took time, but slowly, all of the doubts that he ever had about Sumire wanting to stay with him dissipated under the glow of her love.

A few years pass by, and vows are made to cherish each other and spend their lives together. It isn't just a christmas eve promise any longer, it's a promise to spend every holiday, every birthday, and all of the normal, mundane days in between together. Goro and Sumire have finally found the stability that they so desperately sought, and for once, they can confidently say that they're happy.

A few more years, and their entire lives are about to change once again, but this is a change that they both welcome. They return to the lake to ice skate, just like they do every year, only this time, Goro is a little more apprehensive about it. "Are you certain this is a good idea?" He asks, snow crunching beneath their feet as they walk hand in hand down the same path that Goro once took alone.  
"It'll be fine," Sumire replies, but it doesn't do anything to help ease his mind.  
"But what if you fall?" He questions, and she just smiles brightly.  
"When have I ever fallen while we've been ice skating?" Immediately the moment that he first saw her again after three years springs forth in his mind, when she fell into the snow pile.  
"Actually, remember when-" Sumire cuts him off mid-sentence, finally remembering what she had forgotten momentarily. Her mind isn't quite as _with it_ as it normally is, but it's normal in her state, or so she's told anyway.  
"That was different! You distracted me! I promise you that today I will be very focused, so you have nothing to worry about," She assures him, and he lets out a sigh, warm breath forming a ghost in the air as he does so. For a moment, he swears he sees a blue glow within it, but it quickly vanishes, and he chooses to brush it off and act as if he didn't see anything.  
"I just don't want anything to happen to you or our baby," Goro confesses.  
"It'll be okay. Even if I do end up losing my balance for some strange reason, I know that you would never let me hit the ground," Sumire says confidently, but he isn't so certain.  
"But what if I-" _What if I fail_ , that's what he intends to say, _what if I fail you just as I failed so many other things_ , but she stops him before he can. She moves in front of him, causing him to cease his steady walking pace. Her hands cup his, and she gazes up into his warm mahogany eyes.  
"You won't let me fall," Sumire states without even a hint of doubt present in her voice. Goro shuts his eyes momentarily, calms his mind, then opens them again with newfound resolve and a peaceful smile on his face.  
"You're exactly right. I will never let you fall." She smiles at him, and they resume their walk.

They reach the lake shortly after that, and Goro helps Sumire put her skates on, because reaching over her surprisingly large five month pregnant belly isn't exactly easy for her. Then once both of them have their skates on, they take to the ice, and Sumire starts talking about her work as a nutritionist, genuinely enjoying the career path that Goro encouraged her to take. He had been right when he told her that she should pursue her own interests.

"So, the other day, I had this girl come in who literally ate meat for every single meal and nothing else at all. I'm kind of worried that she'll have a heart attack while I'm on maternity leave," Sumire jokes with a giggle, and Goro smirks as he thinks of his response.  
"Are you certain that girl wasn't just Ryuji in drag?" He jokes back, and she laughs more, before her eyes go wide and she looks as if she has come to a realization.  
"You know what, she could have been."

A few more loops around the lake, and the topic moves from light hearted to a little more serious. "You're going to work from home most of the time after our baby is born, right?" Sumire asks, a little anxious.  
"Yes, of course. You think I'd just abandon you at home so that I can escape to my office? Absolutely not. I want to be there with you to support you and care for our child," Goro replies. Running away to his private detective office is the furthest thing from his mind right now.  
"I know...I guess I just wanted reassurance because I'm nervous, that's all," Sumire confesses. She thinks about her sister then, about how easily she would have handled all of this, but she stops herself from giving that idea too much of her energy. In her heart, she knows that she's wrong, her sister wasn't as invincible as she thinks she was, and it's very possible that she wouldn't have handled it better than Sumire. It's better to think about how she can work through her feelings rather than comparing herself to her sister's ghost.  
"I understand, I am as well. I never imagined that I would be a father, and now that it's only a few months away...well, it's a little nerve wracking, to be honest. I want to be the father that my father should have been, but I'm not entirely certain that I know how. Of course, I know what _not_ to do, but..." Goro responds, full of uncertainty. He's read all of the books, watched countless videos on fatherhood, and done his best to prepare by purchasing everything that they could possibly need ahead of time, but still, even the most expertly woven plans can be unraveled by a single loose thread. He doesn't want to _be_ that loose thread, not again.  
"You're going to be a great father, Goro, I just know it. It took a long time for me to earn your trust, but once I did, I found out that you love more deeply than anyone else in the world. I know that you'll extend that same love to our child, after all, she's part of me and part of you." Goro glances down at the ever growing bump on Sumire's body then, and remembers the first time he felt their baby kick. That was when things started to feel truly real to him, when he could feel the living thing that they created start to move and act on its own.  
"I love her already. I just hope that she loves me."  
"She will," Sumire assures him, and he smiles softly.

Eventually, Sumire starts to feel overly confident about her skating, and begins to attempt to do more than just skate around in a circle with Goro. She moves to the center of the ice, and starts twirling, while he stays close and watches her. At some point, she loses her balance, and starts falling forward, so he rushes to catch her. She lands safely in his arms, just the same as she did that first day when he came back, and looks up at him, smiling.

"I knew you wouldn't let me fall. You never have," She says, a bit too calmy for his liking considering what just happened. His breath is laboured and heavy, clouds forming all around them from the sheer amount of momentary panic he had over the idea of her hitting the ice front first.  
"How dare you be so cavalier about this! You damn well nearly gave me a heart attack," Goro states with a mix of concern and anger. Sumire adjusts her posture, and stands up properly again, but he doesn't release her from his grasp. His body is still tense and rigid, and he's nervously holding onto her out of some sort of subconscious fear that if he lets go she'll go tumbling down.  
"Everything is fine. You caught me. You always catch me." Goro just lets out an exasperated sigh at her response, trying to relieve some of the tension in his body.  
"Just don't do that again," He requests as he attempts to calm down.  
"Okay, I’m sorry. I’ll be more careful from now on."

\--------------------------------------

The years continue to pass by, and Christmas eve after Christmas eve, Goro and Sumire return to the lake to skate together as per their tradition, but this particular year is special. This year, it isn't just the two of them. 

Goro's arms support the weight of a little girl, her tiny skates dangling at his sides while he carries her to the side of the lake. "I'm scared, daddy, what if I fall down?" She asks worriedly as they sit down on the bench together so that he and Sumire can change into their skates.  
"Mommy won't let that happen, and even if it does, I'll be there to catch you. I'll never let you get hurt," Goro replies. His daughter clings to him as he removes his shoes and puts his skates on, partly because she always clings to him, and partly because he's warm.  
"You promise?" She asks. Five years and he's never once broken a promise to her.  
"I promise." And he isn't about to start breaking them now.

They finish putting their skates on, and Goro carries his daughter out to a safe spot in the middle of the lake, then sets her down on the ice. Sumire takes her hands, and holds her up so that she doesn't fall down, while Goro sits down on the ice, ready to catch her just in case she somehow does. It's uncomfortable and cold beneath him, but he doesn't mind if it makes his little girl feel safer.

Her feet wobble a bit, and she's unsteady, but eventually, with Sumire supporting her, she manages to balance enough to stand and even glide across the ice. They do a lap around, and she looks as if she's having fun. When they reach Goro again, she has a huge smile on her face. "Look, daddy, I did it!" She exclaims happily, and Goro smiles brightly.  
"You did so well! Better than I did my first time skating that's for certain. I'm very impressed," He replies, truly proud of his daughter. She then lets go of Sumire's hands and lets herself fall into his arms, wrapping her own arms as far around his waist as she can reach. He holds her closely against his chest, and she nuzzles her head against the soft fabric of his plaid scarf, warming her cheeks and tiny button nose with the warmth that radiates off of him.

Goro glances up at Sumire with a serene smile on his face. Behind him the christmas lights all shine brightly, and they outline his body with a pale golden glow. It's so beautiful that all Sumire can think is _this is my light_. Her grandmother was right, it feels exactly the way that she described. This is true love, the kind of love that she always wanted. "I love you," She says when the feeling overwhelms her.

Gazing up at Sumire, his crimson angel illuminated in a heavenly glow, Goro has a similar thought to hers. "I love you too," He replies. On his own, he isn't a light, but with her, he's able to reflect the light that she shines upon him back at her like the moon reflects sunlight, and become exactly what he always wished that he could be; a hero. A trusted, beloved, cherished hero to his wife and daughter. 

"I love you, daddy," Goro hears his daughter say, and he looks down at her with a smile on his face. He never needed to fear her not loving him, for the love that they have is unconditional, and she reminds him everyday, multiple times a day of that.  
"I love you too, my sweet little dove," Goro replies. His little girl beams at the use of his nickname for her, then turns her head to look at Sumire.  
"I love you, mommy."  
"I love you too, sweetheart," Sumire responds.

A glowing blue butterfly flutters past then, and Goro's eyes follow it until it disappears. Everything is alright, he thinks. He's where he belongs. He's with his family, the loving family that he always dreamed of having, and as long as he is, he's home.

\-----------------------------

From time to time, Goro wonders what happened to the guilt that he once felt, the guilt that he awoke from his once permanent slumber completely relieved of. Where did it go? Why did it go?

Her hands clutch onto her book as she looks upon the long nosed man sitting at the desk before her. "It seems his rehabilitation was a success," Lavenza remarks, and Igor smiles.  
"Yes, it seems that it was. When we pulled his soul from that limbo world that our guest's wish created for him, he no longer desired life or happiness of any kind. All he desired was to pay for his crimes, and so we had no choice but to begin rehabilitating him," He replies.  
"After working alongside him for three years as attendants, I must admit that I truly will miss having him here, but to see him finally happy brings me nothing but pure joy. He was dealt an incredibly unfair hand in life, and yet he somehow managed to overcome all of that against all odds."  
"I choose my guests very carefully, and there is a reason why he was my first choice. He is a truly special individual, and it's such a shame that things went the way that they did. However, there is no use in lamenting the past. He has moved on, so perhaps it's time that we move on as well."  
"Yes. The next guest awaits."

The Velvet Room Prison vanishes then, in order for a new version to take its place, one that will be suitable for the next guest. One that is still yet unknown.


End file.
